Sasser worm creator sentenced by German court

A German teenager who confessed to creating the Sasser computer worm has been found guilty of three counts of computer sabotage and four counts of data manipulation, and given a suspended sentence of 21 months.

Sven Jaschan, 19, was sentenced at the district court in Verden, Germany, on Friday, according to a statement from the court.

Jaschan will be released on three years’ probation. If he commits another crime during the probation period, he will be jailed at a juvenile detention center to serve the 21-month sentence.

In addition, Jaschan must perform 30 hours of community service in a home for the elderly or a hospital.

Jaschan confessed to writing the Sasser worm after he was arrested in May 2004. Sasser crashed hundreds thousands of computers around the world last year by exploiting a flaw in a Windows software component called the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service, or LSASS.